If there’s one player the Phoenix Suns certainly won’t miss this season, it’s Bradley Beal. While head coach Jordan Ott has been cautious about using all the young players he has at his disposal, the roster is still in a better place without the former Washington Wizards All-Star.
The 32-year-old was quickly snapped up by the LA Clippers after being acquired by the Suns this offseason, though he quickly bounced from one struggling franchise to another. The Beal experience has already been as you’d expect in Los Angeles, with missed games due to injuries and poor performances abounding in The Valley.
The Suns are in a much better spot without Beal.
His most recent performance in a slim victory over the hapless New Orleans Pelicans proved exactly why the Suns were right to buy him out when they did, even though he will remain in their cap for years to come. Beal got the start in the 126-124 win, although he only played 21 minutes and collected nine points.
It’s nice to see Bradley Beal in good spirits after everything that happened in Phoenix pic.twitter.com/DaXhEfZ6BB
— ᴄʜᴀsᴇ (@BolieveInNix) October 25, 2025
On the season to date, he has played in three of the five games his team has played, while the 6.7 points average is just over a third (18.7) of what he scored in his first season in Phoenix. Considering that any Suns fan would be hard-pressed to remember fondly a single game in which Beal went off the field, that regression is devastating.
What the Suns have been able to do by buying out Beal is showcase the talents of Grayson Allen, who could be more valuable to them right now than he would be in a trade. He emerges as their top candidate to be moved at the deadline, as he could get them something of real value in return unless they want to test the waters with Collin Gillespie.
Coach Ott has also been able to rely more on Royce O’Neale, which could also increase his value. While the team is currently in the bottom five in offensive rankings, and it may not change much as the season progresses, it’s not like Beal would have made the situation much better.
His scoring ability has fallen off a cliff, while Clippers head coach Tyronn Lue’s hopes of turning him into a defensive threat haven’t taken off either. With Beal playing alongside players well into their 30s like Kawhi Leonard and James Harden, plus 40-year-old Chris Paul, the Suns can look at their younger roster with more flexibility and know it was the right decision to send him packing.
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